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Johnny Servoz-Gavin
Born	18 January 1942; Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France
Died	29 May 2006 (aged 64); Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	French
Active years	1967–1970
Teams	Matra, Cooper, Tyrrell
Entries	13 (12 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	9
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1967 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1970 Monaco Grand Prix

Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006)^[1] was a French motor racing driver in both sportscars and single seaters.

He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1967 and 1970, failing to qualify in one. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of nine championship points. He drove for the Tyrrell Formula One team, mainly as Jackie Stewart's teammate.

Early life

Servoz-Gavin was born in Grenoble, a city in the foothills of the Alps. As a teenager he worked as a ski instructor, during which time he became known as "Johnny".^[1]

Career

Lower formulae

Servoz-Gavin's early work included developing sports cars for Matra.^[2] After initially competing in rallying, Servoz-Gavin moved to single-seater racing. He had previously attended the racing drivers' school at the Magny-Cours circuit in the centre of France, (from which he was "thrown out")^[3] and in 1965 entered the French Formula Three Championship in a private Brabham BT18.^[2] By the late 1960s, Servoz-Gavin was a rising star, following in the footsteps of Jacky Ickx and Jean-Pierre Beltoise. He became French Formula Three Champion in 1966 driving a works Matra MS5, and in 1969 he won the European Formula Two Championship.^[1]

Formula One

His Formula Three racing performances won Servoz-Gavin the attention of Matra, resulting in his moving into Formula One.^[2] His best season was 1968, particularly the 1968 Italian Grand Prix in which he finished second and scored six points, driving a Matra. He also impressed at the Monaco Grand Prix, entering as Jackie Stewart's stand-in, starting from the front row of the grid,^[1] and leading from Graham Hill at the start, until his race ended early after clipping a barrier and breaking a driveshaft in a similar incident to the one that resulted in the death of Lorenzo Bandini in the Monaco Grand Prix the previous year.^[1] Next year, he also scored a sixth place in the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, which secured him a place in history as the only driver ever to score a world championship point with a four-wheel-driven Formula One car, the Matra MS84.^[3]

Servoz-Gavin suffered an eye injury in an off-road event in the winter of 1969–70, and had been worrying that his eyesight had been damaged.^[1] Driving a March 701, for the Tyrrell^[3] team he finished fifth (yet last) in the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. Then after hitting a barrier again, and failing to qualify for the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix he decided to retire.^[1] Servoz-Gavin felt that the risks inherent in Formula One and racing in general were not worthwhile but the problems with his vision may have influenced his decision.^[3]

Other motorsport interests

In 1969, Servoz-Gavin participated in Matra endurance events, co-driving with Pedro Rodríguez.^[2]

Later life

A man of good looks and high society, he was among a number of Formula One drivers rumoured to be the unknown driver in Claude Lelouch's 1977 short footage film C'était un rendez-vous, although Lelouch claimed to have driven the car himself.^[4]^[5]

After his racing career was over, Servoz-Gavin lived on a houseboat and suffered serious burns when a gas bottle exploded on his boat in 1982.^[4] He died in May 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism, following a period of ill health. He was 64 years old.^[2]

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1966	Matra Sports SARL	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra MS620-BRM	P 2.0	112	DNF	DNF
1967	Equipe Matra Sports	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra MS630-BRM	P 2.0	155	DNF	DNF
1968	Equipe Matra Sports	Henri Pescarolo	Matra MS630	P 3.0	283	DNF	DNF
1969	Equipe Matra Elf	Herbert Müller	Matra MS630	P 3.0	158	DNF	DNF
Source:^[6]

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Pts
1967	Matra Sports	Matra MS5	Ford	SNE	SIL	NÜR Ret	HOC	TUL 8	JAR 5	ZAN Ret	PER 5	BRH		6th	15
1967	Matra Sports	Matra MS7	Ford										VAL 3	6th	15
1968	Matra Sports	Matra MS7	Ford	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL Ret	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC	VAL		NC	0
1969	Matra International	Matra MS7	Ford	THR 5	HOC 6	NÜR 6	JAR 4	TUL	PER 2	VAL 1				1st	37

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Pts
1967	Matra Sports	Matra MS5 (F2)	Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4	RSA	MON Ret	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	CAN	ITA	USA	MEX			NC	0
1968	Matra International	Matra MS10	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA	ESP	MON Ret	BEL	NED				ITA 2	CAN Ret	USA	MEX Ret		13th	6
1968	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T86B	BRM P101 3.0 V12						FRA Ret	GBR	GER						13th	6
1969	Matra International	Matra MS7 (F2)	Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER Ret	ITA						17th	1
1969	Matra International	Matra MS84	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8									CAN 6	USA NC	MEX 8			17th	1
1970	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Ret	ESP 5	MON DNQ	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX	20th	2
Source:^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Henry, Alan (26 July 2006). "Johnny Servoz-Gavin". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e McDonough, Ed (2010). Matra Sports Cars: MS620, 630, 650, 660 & 670 - 1966 to 1974. p13: Veloce Publishing Limited.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Steve Small (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 351. ISBN 0851127029.
^ ^a ^b "Johnny Servoz-Gavin". gp.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
^ "Behind the Scenes of Lelouch's Rendezvous". The Motoring Enthusiast. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
^ "All Results of Johnny Servoz-Gavin". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
^ Steve Small (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 350. ISBN 0851127029.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French Formula Three Champion 1966	Succeeded by Henri Pescarolo
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Beltoise	European Formula Two Champion 1969	Succeeded by Clay Regazzoni